What Started Out as a Dorm Room Idea

In 2017, what began as a college project by Anil Jason to support English Language Learners quickly grew into one of the most widely used AI writing assistants on the web. With the help of co-founders Rohan Gupta and David Silin, the trio launched QuillBot’s first tool: a paraphraser. It wasn’t long before the product found its footing, going viral on Reddit and securing a spot in the University of Illinois’ iVenture Accelerator. Fast forward to today, QuillBot has expanded into a full-suite writing platform under the umbrella of Learneo, a parent company focused on productivity tools. With over 56 million monthly active users across QuillBot, Scribbr, and LanguageTool, the vision of democratizing writing support is in full motion.

What QuillBot Does and How It Works

At its core, QuillBot is a web-based platform designed to assist users in producing clear, polished, and original writing. Whether you’re composing an essay, email, blog post, or research paper, QuillBot offers a range of tools that refine your text with just a few clicks. Its flagship feature—the Paraphraser—allows users to reword sentences while maintaining their meaning, offering multiple styles to match tone and clarity needs.

But QuillBot is more than just a paraphrasing tool. It includes a grammar checker, plagiarism detector, summarizer, citation generator, translator, and a growing selection of writing aids. Recently, it introduced two standout features: an AI detector that distinguishes between human- and AI-written text, and an AI Humanizer, which tweaks machine-generated writing to sound more natural.

So, how does it all work? QuillBot’s tools are powered by machine learning models trained on vast datasets—collections of language examples that teach the AI how to recognize and replicate good writing. These models are refined through user interaction; when users frequently reject a suggestion, QuillBot’s AI learns to adapt, evolving to better suit real-world writing contexts.

Image source: Quillbot

Where and How to Use QuillBot

Accessing QuillBot is straightforward. Most users begin on the official website, where the entire toolset is available through a clean, user-friendly interface. There’s also a Chrome extension for real-time writing support across web applications like Gmail or Google Docs, a Microsoft Word add-in, and a dedicated macOS desktop app for offline access.

For those eager to level up their writing beyond the tools, QuillBot also offers free educational resources, including a blog with grammar tips and writing advice, and a series of online courses tailored to academic and professional writing needs. Social media users can catch quick writing tips and product updates via QuillBot’s TikTok, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter) accounts.

Pricing Options: Free to Premium

QuillBot offers a flexible pricing model designed to accommodate a wide range of users.

• Free Plan: Allows paraphrasing of up to 125 words with limited writing modes (Standard and Fluency) and access to the Summarizer (up to 1,200 words).
• Premium Plan: Offers unlimited paraphrasing, access to all writing modes, a full Synonym Slider, and enhanced functionality across all tools, including a 6,000-word Summarizer limit, Paraphraser history, plagiarism checking, and more.

The premium version comes with three payment options:

• Monthly: $19.95
• Semi-Annual: $13.33/month, billed as $79.95 every six months
• Annual: $8.33/month, billed as $99.95 yearly

All plans include a satisfaction-based refund policy, allowing users to test the tool risk-free.

The Verdict: A Practical Companion for Modern Writers

While QuillBot isn’t designed to generate full articles or stories from scratch like some generative AI platforms, its strength lies in improving what’s already written. From tightening sentence structure to summarizing lengthy content, it offers meaningful support for students, educators, professionals, and content creators alike.

Its integration into tools like Chrome, Word, and macOS, plus its multilingual capabilities, make it accessible for everyday writing. Compared to competitors like Grammarly or Copy.ai, QuillBot finds its niche by focusing on clarity, rewording, and original expression—an invaluable trio in both academic and workplace settings.

As AI continues to reshape the writing process, QuillBot offers something refreshingly grounded: an efficient, reliable assistant built not to replace your voice, but to help you sharpen it.

Sources: QuillBot, Elegant Themes